Editor's Note: This is a new feature at Vinton Today, sort of a trial run to see if VT readers are interested in something like this. I will see the new movie that plays at the Palace, and write a short review from a very non-movie critic perspective. My goal is to do this each week, as along as VT readers seem interested.
The movie, this week, was second to the technology at the Palace Screen.
Shrek 4 followed the celebration — a much deserved one — of the very successful fund-raising campaign that brought in more than the $80,000 needed to buy and install the new digital projection system, screen and other related items.
But the final (it seems) version of Shrek was better than Shrek 2 and 3, and as good or better as Shrek 1.
I thought Shrek 3 focused too much on the action and not enough on the story and dialogue that made Shrek so appealing to adults. I feared that with the 3-D capabilities, the Shrek 4 producers would rely on action to carry the film.
I was wrong. The action is great: From my front row in the balcony it seemed as though the movie at times filled the entire Palace. With the new surround-sound speaker controller, and the 3-D effect, the audience members often felt as though the movie was happening around them and not in front of them.
The dialogue is great. Shrek 4 reminded me a bit of "It's a Wonderful Life."
Shrek, now happily married and the father of triplets, becomes tired of being a celebrity. The requests for autographing pitchforks and the tour bus interruptions of his private time leave him wishing for the old days, before the swamp was a place non-ogres wanted to be — before Shrek rescued the Princess.
Rumpelstilskin appears as the villain, offering Shrek a chance for just one day to be an ogre again, like he was before. Shrek falls for the trap, and must find a way back to his life before that day ends and all is lost forever.
Why you should go: Anyone who has ever seen a 2-D movie at the Palace needs to get a sample of 3-D. And with its mild PG rating (mostly for the crude humor that Shrek is famous for), the movie is for just about everyone. (Although a pre-schooler behind me hollered "That's NOT funny" a time or two as Shrek battled the witches.)
What you should know before you go: Many people remember the cardboard 3-D glasses and the headaches they caused. It's not that way. The action can be a bit intense at times for those who have only seen 2-D movies on the big screen, but the digital 3-D experience is not the same.
My favorite part of the movie: Shrek is looking back at his early days, when the villagers were afraid of him. And as we see the scenes that remind us of the original Shrek in his Swamp, the music we hear is: "On Top of the World" by the Carpenters. A perfect juxtaposition of sight and sound.
One of the things you experience as a member of a theater audience that you cannot experience while watching the movie at home is the response of scores of other people to the movie, and its ending. There was a very loud and enthusiastic round of applause as the first showing ended. The audience was in no hurry to leave.
But "Shrek: The Final Chapter. It Ain't Ogre Til It's Ogre" is just about over here in Vinton. It. only continues until Thursday, so hurry up. Get there.
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